Welcome to Chapter IV of my novella ‘Peeved’ releasing week by week! You don’t need to read the previous chapters to know what’s happening in this story, but if you’re interested I’ll put the link to them at the bottom.
Recap
The plan was simple: speak my mind, fix the world. Since then, I’ve told off a slow pedestrian, escalator hogs, an old lady who tried to hold me hostage with her modem. Then my friends betrayed me by not backing me up against a racist. So I cut them off. Growth!
After I told Rakesh and Priya not to speak to me, they wouldn’t stop calling me.
They called at least three, sometimes five a day. Seriously, what is it with people? You tell them to piss off and they treat it like an invitation to call more. I didn’t answer any of their calls. I listened to the voicemails, hoping one of them had seen the light and joined the crusade, but nah. Just sappy messages about how ‘worried’ they were. Cute. Deleted.
If they kept it up much longer, I was going to block their numbers. Emotional blackmail? That’s not in the manual for changing the world.
On the train that Monday morning, I scribbled down a new set of goals in my Notes app:
Number 1: Cut out the baggage in my life
Number 2: Make my quiet carriage always quiet
Number 3: Start a revolt at Alliance that forces management to change the company culture
Number 4: Stop my noisy neighbours from partying late at night.
It wasn’t a long list—but it was a righteous one.
Do I think if I don’t fix these things, the world will collapse into chaos and people will start drinking their own bathwater to survive?
No.
But could it happen?
You’re damn fucking right, Arj.
It was now or never, and if I succeeded that meant the world still had a fighting chance.
Things were getting better, though. There were still the usual suspects—loud phone talkers, slow pedestrians—but overall, I could see improvements. That was, until Samuel Chen returned from leave.
Samuel was another technician at Alliance Telecom. Clean-shaven, dyed auburn hair in a despicable bowl cut, and dressed like a middle manager even on Fridays. While the rest of us rocked hoodies and jeans, this guy was out here cosplaying as an executive. Vomit.
Since arriving at Alliance Telecommunications two years ago, I received comments from him like:
‘Arjun, did your mum dress you today?’
‘Shit bro, have you showered at all this week?’
‘Ew, I can see your pit stains.’
He’d been on holiday for three blessed weeks and peace had reigned. But now he was back. I tried to avoid him for most of the day, until I thought: What the hell am I doing? I’m not the one who should be hiding.
So I strutted past his desk in full view.
Samuel wrinkled his nose. ‘Urgh! What’s that smell? Oh, Arjun! I thought it was you. Pretty sure it’s illegal to stink that much around other people. Someone call the cops—lock this guy up.’
Laughter rippled through the tech bay. Some technicians forgot they were still talking to customers.
I made a mental note:
Number 5: Make Samuel the laughing stock of the company.
‘You really are a shit human being,’ I said.
Samuel giggled like a parrot. ‘I had nightmares about you on holiday. Why don’t you just leave? Nobody wants you here stinking up the joint.’
Louder sniggering.
I stared at him. ‘Looking at your hair, I’ve realised that I probably shouldn’t take advice from Temu Ed Sheeran.’
A moment of silence.
Then: howl
Everyone lost it. One guy actually dropped his headset.
Honestly, I hated making fun of other people’s appearance, but the fact it was at Samuel’s expense, I couldn’t help but grin.
Samuel’s face went beetroot. He opened his mouth to fire back—
‘Arj!’
It was Grace. My team leader. Her voice cut through the chaos like a slap.
She stood in the doorway to her office, ‘Can I see you for a minute?’
Isaiah Prasad 